Awning



Sept. 22, 1953 w. H. coRKREAN 2,652,604

` AWNING Filed Jan. 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3 a v 1NVENTOR A22 BY ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 22, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AWNIN G William H. Corkrean, Washington, D. C.

Application January 18, 1950, Serial No. 139,245

(Cl. 20a-57.5

Claims.

The present invention relates to awnings, and more particularly to awnings of the rigid type, made of sheet metal or the like.

Structures of this kind comprise permanently joined assemblies of a pair of panels constituting side Walls and a single panel forming an integral roof and front wall. Considerations of appearance, as well as the desirability of making the relative thin sheet metal as rigid as possible, require that the panels be corrugated. Bending a corrugated panel to form an integrally associated roof and front wall necessitates cutting the upstanding ridges of the panel crosswise in alignment with the lines along which the valleys are to be bent. When the bends are introduced, the margins of the cuts separate, leaving wide openings through which sunlight and rain Vare free to enter. This is objectionable since the primary function of the awning is to shield the associated doorway or window opening from sunlight and rain.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to make such cuts in such a Way that the resulting openings will be of minimum effective vertical height and will be so formed that they will normally prevent ingress of rain and of rainwater draining from the awning roof and will normally deflect entering sunlight to the eXtreme lower portion of the area of shade provided by the awning where it is not likely to shine directly into the eyes of persons inside the doorway or window opening.

The problem of satisfactory ventilation has also presented difliculties. Hot air rises within the awning and is best vented through the side walls because it is impracticable to form openings in the roof. The present invention seeks to 4facilitate the escape of rising hot air by providing vent openings in those zones of the side walls which are normally impinged by the rising convection currents. These zones are not at the extreme tcps of the side walls, at the junction of the roof as seems to have been generally assumed in the prior art, but they are spaced somewhat below the roof junction. Accordingly, the present invention contemplates providing side wall vent openings appreciably below the top edge of each side wall.

The fabrication of box-corrugated side walls of different sizes requires the preparation and use of a special pattern or template for cutting the flat sheet metal stock to form each size. The present invention dispenses with the pattern requirement by employing a new kind of corrugation shape for the side walls which makes it a simple matter to calculate the length in the flat that will be required to produce `a finally cor- 2, rugated side wall of any length. Moreover, the new corrugation is superior to the old in respect of rigidity and general attractiveness, and it involves a considerable economy of material.

With the foregoing and other objects and acl- Vantages in View, the invention will now be eX- plained in terms of the preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevational View of an awning embodying the principles of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional View taken on the line 3 3` of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional View taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of one of the side Walls of the awning;

Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of the front wall and roof of the awning; and

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 3-8 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the awning comprises principally a pair of spaced side walls i, l, and an integral roof 2 and front wall 3, all made of sheet metal or equivalent lightweight durable material, appropriately configured as will be hereinafter explained, with the several panels permanently and rigidly secured together by structural elements and fastening expedients and devices to constitute an assembly of general hood or awning shape which can be mounted on the exterior wall of a building immediately over a window or doorway.

The two side Walls are iden-tical, each coinprising a panel, preferably in the form of a single sheet, of generally right triangular shape with however its frcnt vertexremcved so that the iront edge 4, where the panel is flanged outwardlly for attachment to the front wall 3 of the awning, is a short vertical line parallel' to the much longer rear edge 5, where the panel is iianged inwardly for direct engagement with the building wall (not shown). The upper edge of each side wall is steeply inclined downwardly from rear to front and in the nished side wall ap'- proximates a single straight line.

Each side wall panel i' is corrugated to pro vide a plurality of vertically extending indentations of triangular shape in section, each indentation being denned by av relatively narrow end wall i and a relatively wide bottom wall which latter extends at an oblique angle from the outer edge of an end wall to the inner edge of the next adjacent end wall, so that the cross section of the panel is serrated, all as is clearly shown by Figs. and 6. Each of the corrugation bottoms 8 is provided with perforation S of appreciable size, say a diameter of the order of one and one-half to two inches, forming a vent opening spaced several inches below the upper edge 6 of the panel.

The lower edge of each side wall may be ornamentally congured by indentations I made by cutting out the metal adjacent to the bottom of each corrugation end wall 1, but this is purely a matter of design and forms no part of the present invention.

Stiiening members in the form of box bracing or angle irons il may be riveted or otherwise fastened horizontally across the inside surface of the side wall panels near their lower edges, as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. These members, cooperating with the fastenings of the upper edges t to the roof 2 which will be hereinafter described, impart adequate rigidity to the side walls and permit the use of comparatively light gauge sheet metal.

The integral roof 2 and front wall 3 is made of a single sheet of the same kind of material as is used for the side walls. It too is corrugated, but in this case the corrugations are formed to provide box ridges I2 separated by intervening box channels I3, with comparatively wide areas lll and I5 forming the tops of the ridges and the bottoms of the channels, respectively, and with comparatively narrow areas I6 connecting them and forming the sides of the ridges and of the channels, all as best shown in Fig. '7.

This corrugated shape is common to the front wall and the roof, both portions of the awning being made from a single sheet which is rst corrugated from originally flat stock and is then cut and bent to provide the separate roof and front wall portions. The sheet is cut only in the ridge tops and sides, i. e., only in the areas ill and I6. The channel bottoms I5 are not cut, but are simply bent to an obtuse angle along the line of the bottoms of the cuts in the areas IE.

The formation of the cuts is important and constitutes a novel feature of the invention. Instead of making these cuts in planes normal to height of the ridges and to the depth of the channels in accordance with the standard prior art practice, the ridges are cut back at a relatively sharp oblique angle to the bottoms of the channels, as shown in Figs. l, 3 and '7. This type of cut results in the opening Il, produced by the bending of the sheet, being of substantially less vertical height than would result from cuts made normal to the height of the ridges and the depth of the channels, and it causes the extreme forward edge of each ridge top area I of the roof i. to overhang and project forwardly beyond the corresponding area I8 forming the outermost plane of the front wall 3.

Two important advantages are achieved by this arrangement. Water draining from the areas I6 does not enter the openings il to contact and discolor the front wall inner surface, which is desirably painted in some very light color of high reecting value, but passes by the openings and drops down beyond or along the outer surface of the area I8 of the front wall, which is usually painted in a considerably darker shade. if weathering and consequent discoloration of this outer surface result from such drainage, the effect is quite in harmony with the weathering and discoloration that take place on the entire roof and in the channel bottoms of the front wall, all of which are of course exposed alike to rain, sun, dust and the like.

Moreover, since the openings Il are of very low vertical height, they admit very little direct sunlight. The space within the awning and behind it, i. e., the window or doorway opening over which the awning is mounted, is not impinged by any rays of direct sunlight at any time of the day except in the early morning or late afternoon when the sun is so near the horizon that its rays are too weak to be objectionable. This effect is a material improvement over the much larger body of rays that are admitted by the much larger openings used in those prior art awnings in which the cuts are made normal to the ridges and channels. Such openings pass direct sunlight into a high level of the window or door opening much later in the morning or much earlier in the afternoon, when the sunlight is objectionably bright.

The roof 2 may be stiifened by a cross brac conveniently made in the form of a channel or angle iron I9 riveted or otherwise secured to the under surface of the roof, engaging the bottoms of the channels as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and the rear edge of the roof may be finished and stiffened by an acute angular strip 2i) having one of its flanges riveted or otherwise fastened to the inside surface of the roof, being engaged with the bottoms of the channels as shown in Fig. 3, and having its other flange disposed in a vertical plane and perforated at intervals for attachment to the wall of the building.

A flashing strip 2l may be disposed across tne top of the rear edge of the roof with a rearwardly projecting fairly flexible lip or flange more or less resiliently contacting the building wall te make reasonably tight engagement therewith. This engagement may be caulked if desired or thought necessary.

The side walls and roof may be connected in any suitable way. prefer to cut the side walls with tabs 22 projecting at spaced intervals from some of the indentation bottoms 3 and bent .l outwardly right angularly from the top edge 6 of the side walls. These tabs are inserted into pockets formed by return bent edge margins of the roof, and the three plies of metal thus juxtaposed are then riveted, bolted or otherwise secured together. A most convenient expedient is to punch the plies by use of a familiar type of hand tool to introduce a crimped offset 23, as shown in Fig. 8.

The same type of connection may be used at the junction of the side walls and the front wall.

rlhere is a distinct advantage in locating the vent openings 9 appreciably below the top edge 6 of the side walls, i. e., spaced below the plane of the roof 2. This results from the fact that convection currents of hot air which rise in the awning strike the under surface of the roof and are deflected thereby in paths which include a downwardly and outwardly curving component. currents consequently reach the side walls, not at the top edge thereof, but appreciably below it. Vent openings 9 located at this striking Zone are therefore highly effective to discharge a maximum of the air of these currents. Awnings vented in accordance with the present teaching will be found to be noticeably cooler in hot weather than awnings in which the vent openings are formed at the line at which the roof joins the side walls.

The novel type of corrugation which I prefer to use in the side Walls has a utilitarian purpose SuchV as well as an attractive appearance. This purpose is two-fold: In addition to effecting an economy of sheet metal and of paint and painting labor, the triangular type corrugation greatly facilitates the work of laying out fiat sheet stock in appropriate dimensions to produce, after the corrugating operation, a side wall of any desired dimensions. The stock is simply cut to such length, between the edges #i and 5, as exceeds the ultimate length desired for the finished, corrugated side wall by the additional length required by the aggregate of the widths 'i and by the angle at which the areas are set to the general plane of the side wall. The operator knows how much nal side wall length will be provided by each combination of two areas 'I and S, and he knows also how many such combinations of surfaces will be required to malte a side wall of any desired length. l-ie thus readily calculates the over-all length of dat stock that will be required, cuts the stock to that length, and performs the corrugating operation. The top edge is then trimmed to leave an appropriate number of tabs 22 projecting, and these tabs are then bent over rightangularly. Introducing the cuts i6, if desired, addition of the stiifener il, and bending the flanges at the edges l and 5 then completes the side wall.

It is believed to be evident from the foregoing that the invention provides the advantages and achieves the objects hereinabove stated. It is to be noted that not all of the structural features which are illustrated in the drawings and have been described in this specification need be used conjointly. On the contrary, the invention may be embodied, within the scope of the appended claims, otherwise than as shown and described in this disclosure of the preferred embodiment.

I claim:

1. An awning including integral sloping roof and vertical front wall portions formed of a single piece of sheet metal corrugated to provide alternate ridges and channels with each of the ridges having a slit at an oblique angle to the bases of the channels in the roof portion and with the sheet disposed in bent condition at the vertex of the roof and front wall portions whereby the ridges of the roof portion overhang and project forwardly beyond the plane of the ridges of the front wall portion.

2. An awning including integral sloping roof and vertical front wall portions formed of a single piece of sheet metal corrugated to provide alternate box ridges and box channels with each of the ridges having a slit at a relatively sharp oblique angle to the bases of the channels in the roof portion and with the sheet disposed in bent condition at the vertex of the roof and front wall portions whereby the ridges of the roof portion appreciably overhang the ridges of the front wall portion and project forwardly beyond the plane thereof to prevent drain water dripping through the openings formed by said cuts.

3. An awning comprising a downwardly and forwardly sloping roof portion having laterally spaced ridges, each ridge having a top wall and a pair of side walls, and a substantially vertical front wall portion depending at an obtuse angle from the forward end of the roof portion and having ridges substantially aligned in the vertical planes of the roof portion ridges and each having a top wall and a pair of side walls, the top wall of each roof portion ridge extending forwardly beyond the upper edge of the aligned top wall of the corresponding front wall portion il? ridge and being spaced therefrom by an opening adapted to admit light and air into the awning but being protected from ingress of water drain-- ing from the roof portion by said forward extension or" the roof portion ridge top wall.

4. An awning comprising a downwardly and forwardly sloping roof portion having laterally spaced ridges, each ridge having a top wall and a pair of side walls, the top wall terminating at its forward end in a laterally directed free edge and each side wall terminating at its forward end in a free edge extending substantially horizontally rearwardly from the side ends of said free edge of the top wall, in combination with a substantially vertical front wall portion depending at an obtuse angle from the forward end of the roof portion and having ridges substantially aligned in the vertical planes of the roof portion ridges and each having a top wall and a pair of side walls, the top wall of each ridge of the front wall portion extending downwardly in a substantially vertical plane positioned rearwardly of the free edge of the aligned top wall of the corresponding ridge of the roof portion, whereby the top walls of each aligned roof portion and front wall portion ridge are separated by a space adapted to admit light and air into the awning but protected from ingress of water draining from the roof portion by the position of the front wall portion ridge top wall rearwardly of the free edge of the roof portion ridge top wall.

5. An awning comprising a downwardly and forwardly sloping roof portion having laterally spaced ridges, each ridge having a top wall and a pair of side walls, the top wall terminating at its forward end in a laterally directed free edge and each side wall terminating at its forward end in a free edge extending substantially horizontally rearwardly from the side ends of said free edge of the top wall, in combination with a substantially vertical front wall portion depending at an obtuse angle from the forward end of the roof portion and having ridges substantially aligned in the vertical planes of the roof portion ridges and each having a top wall and a pair of side walls, the top wall of each ridge of the front wall portion extending downwardly in a substantially vertical plane positioned rearwardly of the free edge of the aligned top wall of the corresponding ridge of the roof portion, and the side wall of each ridge of the front wall portion terminating in an upper edge sloping rearwardly and upwardly to the rear end of the free edge of the aligned side wall of the corresponding ridge of the roof portion, whereby the top walls of each aligned roof portion and front wall portion ridge are separated by a space adapted to admit light and air into the awning but protected from ingress of water draining from the roof portion by the position of the front Wall portion ridge top wall rearwardly of the free edge 0f the roof portion ridge top wall.

WILLIAM H. CORKREAN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 339,744 Cusack Apr. 13, 1886 1,926,609 Bauschard Sept. 12, 1933 2,105,409 Crawford Jan. 11, 1938 2,441,081 Perry et a1. May 4, 1948 2,448,984 Kraus Sept. 7, 1948 2,503,136 Simpson Apr. 4, 1950 

